The Bodyguard (Gendrya)
by potter-demigoddess
Summary: The Stark family has been receiving threats from the Lanister's. Ned Stark decides to increase the family security by hiring personal bodyguards for each family member. Arya did not need someone to take care of her she was very capable of watching out for herself. She did not need an ex-military guy following her around like a puppy. (Modern AU)
1. Chapter 1- Ayra

_If I ever get my hands on those damn Lanister's they sure as hell are going to be sorry for what they are about to put me through. I can't believe father has hired each of us personal bodyguards because those stupid Lanister's are supposedly "dangerous". But I can take care of myself I don't need a shadow. How embarrassing is it going to be to have some guy following me around everywhere I go!_ Arya was ranting about the shitty situation she had suddenly found herself in as she walked down the hall to her father's study where she would be meeting her new bodyguard.

She was the last one to meet her personal guard as he had just gotten out of the military and was relocating to Winterfell. Her older brothers, Jon and Rob were away at uni and so their bodyguards had met up with them there. Her older sister, Sansa was taking a year off to travel and would also be meeting up with her guard on the road, presumably, at The Vale. Her younger siblings, Bran and Rickon, and her parents had been meeting up with their guards the last couple of days. She had not been looking forward to meeting hers especially when she didn't think she needed one.

This afternoon was Arya's turn to meet the guard, his name was Gendry Waters he was apparently 22 years old, her father had decided that it would be a good idea for her to have younger guard so that in a few months when she went to college he could easily blend in with the other students. But that didn't change the fact that for the last month of her senior high school year she would have this stranger following her through the halls and to her classes. As if she wasn't already weird enough. Her parents had cleared it with her private school so it would be okay for Gendry to basically follow her around campus. As if the school's permission would be the biggest issue here.

She reached the door of her father's study and steeled herself as she knocked and entered the room. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the tall, muscled, guy sitting on the chair in front of her father's desk. He had a strong build and dark black hair, his back was to her but he immediately turned around at the sound of her entering; standing up as he realized it was her. _At least he was easy on the eyes_ , Arya thought, _speaking of eyes, gosh darn it he had the most gorgeous blue eyes she had ever seen!_

Her father was behind his desk and he stood up as well to introduce them. "Mr. Waters, this is my daughter Arya. Arya this is Gendry. He will be your new bodyguard. Don't give him a hard time. Please." He said almost exasperated, probably because he knew she was still going to give this poor guy a run for his money.

Arya walked up to them with a forced smile on her face, pushed out her hand to shake Gendry's "Wouldn't dream of it father." To Gendry she said a simple "Hello."

As her their hands made contact she had a sudden warm feeling in the pit of her stomach. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my lady." He said.

She dropped his hand and a dark look spread across her face as she faced him, looking right into his eyes as she stated "Do. Not. Call. Me. My Lady." With that she turned around and stalked out the room, but she had caught the shocked look on his gorgeous face. _Stupid idiot,_ she thought to herself as she went back to her room. But she couldn't help smiling to herself as she considered _maybe this won't be so bad after all._ But she wondered what those weird feelings in her stomach were, maybe she was hungry.


	2. Chapter 2-Gendry

_*Earlier that day*_

Gendry pulled up his motorcycle to the gate of the gigantic mansion that would soon be his haunting ground, taking off his helmet so he could speak to the security guard. "Hello, Gendry Waters here for the bodyguard position, I believe they are expecting me," he told the man.

"Can I see your ID" The guard replied. Gendry pulled out his driver's license. "I'll just be keeping this till you leave, they'll be giving you an official security pass inside which you can use from now on. You can park your vehicle in the parking on your right and go straight to the door, someone will show you to Mr. Stark's office. Don't forget to pick up your licence on your way out! And good to have you on board Gendry!" He said with a smile on his face.

"Thanks. See you around!" Gendry said. Glad that his co-workers seemed like decent people.

He did as he was told at the main door he met with a Mr. Rodrick who introduced himself as the head of security, otherwise known as his new boss. Mr Rodrick showed Gendry the grounds and told him of his duties as Arya Starks' bodyguard. He would be following her everywhere she went especially when she left the grounds, no exceptions. He was given a file with her details a week ago and so he knew a bit about her, she had a month left of high school and then she would be off to university in the fall where he would continue to be her guard.

After the tour Mr. Rodrick took him to Mr. Starks office where they would have a short discussion about his new assignment and meet Aria Stark. Gendry was a little nervous about meeting Mr. Stark, he was a very powerful man after all and Gendry needed to do well in this assignment. When Gendry entered the office Mr. Stark sat him down and said "Mr. Waters, I'm glad you've joined us, you seem to have been very well trained in the army and I need the best guards for my family."

"Thank you, Sir, I'm happy to be of service" Gendry replied.

"Though I have to tell you, you may have a bit of trouble with Arya, you see, she doesn't want a bodyguard. She believes she can take care of herself, and she can, for the most part. And yet, I need to keep my family safe so extra measures are required. That being said, I need you to be extra vigilant, especially at the beginning because she may try to get away from you."

Gendry wondered why she would try to be difficult if she knew her life was in danger, but then again, he could see how she may want some semblance of privacy and independence. "Of course, Sir. I won't leave her side".

"Thank you, Gendry, she should be here any moment" as if on que there was a curt knock on the door and it was flung open. A small girl, Gendry immediately recognised from photos in her file, walked in she stood a few feet away from them, clearly studying the situation. Gendry and Mr. Stark stood up, Mr. Stark Introduced them "Mr. Waters, this is my daughter Arya. Arya this is Gendry. He will be your new bodyguard. Don't give him a hard time. Please." The way he said it, it didn't seem like he believed she would actually heed his instructions. It made Gendry want to laugh, clearly, she was troublemaker.

Arya walked closer to them with a forced smile on her face, pushed out her hand to shake Gendry's and said "Wouldn't dream of it father." To Gendry she said a simple "Hello."

Their hands made contact and Gendry felt something warm in the pit of his stomach. He wanted to ease her obvious anxiety at the situation, and thought he should be extra polite, to get on her good side so he said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, my lady."

 _Oh boy, that a bad idea_ he thought almost immediately. She dropped his hand and her face twisted into a dark look "Do. Not. Call. Me. My Lady." She very nearly growled. With that she turned around and stalked out the room

"That didn't go well" he said, mostly to himself, but Mr. Stark seemed to agree. At the same time, he found her quite amusing, she was so small, like an angry garden gnome trying to take on everything in her path. He vowed to make a better second impression, after all they were about to spend nearly every waking hour together, they should at least get along.


	3. Chapter 3- Arya

Once Arya got to her room she changed into a worn-out grey shirt and black track pants. She was going to go for a run to get the events of the morning out of her mind, she generally disliked meeting new people and especially those who tried to treat her like she was delicate. Gendry bothered her more because he was about to be invading her privacy on a daily basis.

She stepped outside the house, putting her earphones in and playing her running playlist, she had called it 'Running with the Wolves'. She did some stretches on the grass before heading to the woods that surrounded the house. This was her favourite place, she felt at peace when she ran in these woods. She set out for her usual route that led to a small clearing with a river running through where she normally went to get away from everything.

It was about three kilometres to the clearing and once she arrived she took off her headphones so she could listen to the sounds around her. She was about to lay down like she normally did when she heard something odd from behind her. At first, she thought it could be an animal, which wasn't uncommon in the Winterfell woods, there were tons of small creatures and the occasional wolf. It sounded too big though and fast, so she stayed still and quiet, till she could figure out what to do.

She didn't have to wait long, within the minute Gendry had come bounding through the woods and into the clearing. At first, she was relieved it was just Gendry but it quickly dissolved into anger. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" She yelled at him.

"What were you thinking running off into the woods! It's bloody dangerous, the woods aren't secure! You could have died! I tried calling your name at first but you didn't seem hear me." He replied nearly as angry as Arya.

"It's called exercise! And the Woods **are** safe I've been running here forever. And my headphones were in while I was running" she said holding up the headphones dangling around her neck. "You don't need to follow me around. In fact, I don't want you following me around."

"Look, I'm sorry, I just take my job very seriously and this is my first time as a bodyguard, I just want it to go well. Can't you give me a break?"

She felt bad then, she was being a total brat. He was just trying to do his job and all day she'd been such a pain. "I'm sorry, I've been a bit of a brat haven't I. I just value my privacy, and I'm not super comfortable with this whole situation." She on the trunk of a fallen tree and looked out to the river

"Yeah I get that." He replied before sitting on the grass in front of her. They sat in silence for a while. "I have an idea on how to make this easier. Well, two, actually"

"Shoot"

"Okay we're going to spend a lot of time together, that's unavoidable, but we can do this one of two ways and it has to be your choice because I'm okay with either."

"okay…"

"So, option one, I will keep as much distance as I can and we won't interact very much. Option two, we get to know each other a bit, that way you get comfortable with me around. Hell, you might even enjoy my company!" He smiled and looked into her eyes, he had a great smile she thought to herself.

She smirked at him, he thought he was funny. She thought about her options, the first was good because he wouldn't bother her as much. The second was good because she was much better around people she knew. There was also something about him that made her want to know him better. "Fine. Let's get to know each other." She said slowly.

"How did you make that sound like a horrible thing?" he let out a short deep laugh.

"It's a gift." She smiled, and he laughed again. "So, how do we do this? Just ask whatever? And the other has to answer?"

"Sure. You start?" He gave her an encouraging smile.

"Alright, where are you from?"

"Kings landing. What's your favourite colour?"

"Grey, but like a dark grey. What's yours?"

"Light grey" he replied, with a glint in his eyes.

"Liar!" she exclaimed

He laughed harder, "I am not, I love light grey! What's your favourite animal?"

"Wolves, obviously!"

"I like bulls"

"Why am I not surprised" she smiled, he seemed like the type.

"When I was growing up my mum got me a bike helmet and it had a bull on it, that was the year before she…" he grew quiet and she guessed that he had lost his mum, that must have been awful.

She slid off the log and on the grass in front of him, putting a hand on his and squeezing lightly "I'm sorry"

He looked up at her, squeezed back and gave her a sad sort of smile. "Thank you"


	4. Chapter 4-Gendry

How did they get to this depressing topic so quickly? Gendry didn't want her to feel bad for him. But it was out now and there was nothing he could do about it except change the topic to a lighter one. "Now that I've depressed us thoroughly let's get back to the game" she smiled at him "When's your birthday?" He already knew this of course, from her file but he wanted her to tell him.

"Just had it last month, April 28th. When's yours"

"December 1st" They were back to more comfortable quick-fire questions which suited Gendry just fine.

"Cool, favourite food?"

"Easy, pizza. Isn't it everyone's favourite food?" he laughed.

Arya joined him, "what a coincidence, it happens to be my favourite too!"

"See, I told you, everyone loves pizza"  
As their laughter died down, they caught each other's eyes and the world seemed to go silent as they looked into each other's eyes. Gendry couldn't look away. Her eyes, they're beautiful, a light grey like the sky on a rainy day, but she was the storm. She had been right earlier calling him a liar when he'd said his favourite colour was light grey because until he had met her his favourite colour was blue.

The air sizzled with electricity between them. They couldn't seem to break whatever had roped them together in this moment. Rain started falling slow at first but it was enough for them to drop the moment. "We should head back" Ayra said slowly, she seemed kind of out of it.

"Yeah, sounds good." He was dazed, but they both managed to get up and start walking back to the main house on the estate. "So, are we good?"

"Good?"  
"You're not gonna give me too hard a time?"

"Oh. I can't promise that. But, I'll try," she said with a mischievous smile.

"I guess that's the best I'm going to get, isn't it." He said with fake resignation, he was smiling.

She just smiled.

They were out of the woods now, the house in sight. "Okay I don't officially start till the morning, but if you have plans for the night let me know and I'll accompany you. Alright." He paused to make sure the acknowledged what he'd said. "I'm going to be moving in to my room on the grounds"

"Okay." She seemed down suddenly.

"Please don't leave the grounds without me. Okay." He said again. He wanted her to be safe.

"Okay, okay, I won't. Don't get your panties in a twist. I don't have plans tonight I was just going to watch movies and chill at home. Don't worry so much, its only day one." She smiled "well, not even day one. Go get your shit done. I'll see you tomorrow for school. Should be fun."

That last part sounded sarcastic but he didn't get a chance to say anything about it because she turned around and stalked away so he called out a quick "bye, then" to her retreating figure. She raised her right arm and shook her hand a bit in reply.

Gendry smiled as he walked to what would be his new home. The estate had two main buildings, the main house, for the stark family. And the secondary building that was mostly used to house the live-in staff. He would essentially have a studio apartment. He had sent his things ahead of him, not that he had much things to begin with, just a few boxes. He had planned to spend the evening unpacking his things and getting settled in.

He got to his new apartment, set on finishing his tasks. But he spent the next couple of hours thinking about Arya and what they'd talked about in the woods, and her eyes which told him so much about her and trapped him in her gaze. It wasn't very long before he realized he needed to stop thinking about her. She was his charge he needed to protect her at all costs. Even if he had to protect her from himself because it was becoming very clear to him that he felt something for her and it scared him.


	5. Chapter 5- Arya

Arya spent the night at home, finishing up random bits of school work, and watching a movie. She tried to keep herself busy but thoughts of Gendry kept creeping in. He was nice and although she hated that he had to be around for her safety she was glad at least that he was so easy to get on with. She still felt she could handle herself if the Lanisters did try to do anything to her. Thus far they had only threatened her father and the family business. But her father was a cautious man who wanted to make sure his family was safe from any and all threats. Arya could appreciate that but it didn't mean she didn't think he was going too far with this.

Gendry seemed like a person that she could see herself easily befriending. But he had an intensity about him, probably from his time in the military. She had wanted to ask him about it in the woods, but she had chickened out. He probably wouldn't want to talk to her about it.

She went to bed thinking of his blue eyes and dreamt she was on a boat in the middle of the bluest ocean she had ever seen.

In the morning she got up for school, got ready and walked out of the house. He was already there waiting by the car. "Good morning" he said.

"Good morning" she replied. "Ready to go back to high school?" she added teasingly.

"Can't wait" he deadpanned.

She smiled slyly, "you could always stay here and let me go on my own."

"Not a chance." He said while opening the passenger door of her car.

She ignored him and went to the driver's side. This was her car and she'd be damned if she let him drive he to school on top of everything else.

He stood outside, a little shocked at her stubbornness she guessed. "You going to get in or are we going to be late?" she yelled to the open passenger door.

He got into the car, "You should let me drive you know."

"Not going to happen. My car, I drive."

The quick ride to school was spent silence between them as the radio played top 40 songs.

They arrived at the school with 10 minutes to spare until Arya's first class. She parked the car but didn't get out. She needed a minute to gather herself before this day.

"It's going to okay you know, I won't let anything happen to you" he said.

"I know." She said and got out of the car. He followed behind her, scanning the surroundings for possible threats as they walked to her first class.

Things were going well, Gendry tried not to make it too obvious that he was following her, he would wait outside her classes until she was done and walked her to the next class.

Lunch time was when things started going south. Sandor Clegane, the school's star football player and one of Arya's nemeses saw her and came over to try to pick on her as he often does. Not that Arya doesn't give as good as she gets, but she's small and easy to push around. He was big and such an asshole Arya has to fight all her instinct not to attack him every time he talks. Last year she had punched him but it hadn't really made a difference to him so then she jumped on his back to punch his head. She'd gotten suspended for three days for that and ground for a month. But it was worth it.

"Well, well if it isn't Arya Stark, looks like you've got yourself a boyfriend." He said, then to Gendry, "How much is she paying you?"

"Fuck off." She said "You're just jealous because there's not enough money in the world to get someone to go out with you." She could see Gendry eyes go wide as he looked at her in shock.

"Bitch"

Just as Arya was about to reply that Clegane should go fuck a door or something. Gendry interrupted "That's enough." His voice was ice, and commanding as hell, "Walk away before I get the teachers involved and get you suspended."

Clegane and Gendry stared each other down in some kind of macho man contest. Clegane ultimately decided this wasn't worth it and walked away.

Gendry turned back to face Arya "You really shouldn't insult people that are bigger than you."

"Then I wouldn't get to insult anyone." She replied "Besides, I had that handled"

"Of course, you did." Gendry said as they started walking down the hall to the lunch room.


	6. Chapter 6-Gendry

The rest of the week passed without incident. Gendry followed her around the school and when they went home she mostly stayed at the family's main house.

Every day, after she got home she would go for a run in the woods. What surprised him though, was that she asked if he wanted to go with her. Of course, he said yes, he needed to protect her.

On their runs they didn't talk much. She usually wore headphones, and Gendry just listened to the sounds of nature around them. It was comfortable, it felt like they'd been friends forever.

The weekend rolled around and Gendry was unsure of what Arya normally did on the weekends. Maybe she went to parties? Or the beach? The movies? He wasn't sure, but Arya hadn't mentioned anything so maybe she wasn't going out. It was still early in the morning, and he was planning on going to the main house to see if there were any plans of Arya leaving the estate or maybe the whole family was going out on some get together and he would need to go as part of the protective detail.

His phone chimed with the alert of a new text message.

 _Arya: Going for a run, wanna join?_

 _Gendry: Sure_

 _Arya: Great! Meet me in the kitchen_

Gendry immediately relaxed now that he knew what was happening for the next hour. He quickly put on running shorts, a t-shirt and track shoes.

He jogged lightly to the backdoor of the house which led immediately to the kitchen. He peeked in through the glass door, raising his hand to knock, but Arya was sitting on a stool at the bar counter, saw him, and waved him in. He opened the door, saying "Good morning" as he walked towards Arya. She was eating some berries and drinking some kind of smoothie.

"Morning, did you want some of this" she said raising the glass with the smoothie in it. "There extra in the blender, it's raspberries and vanilla."

"Sure, thank you."

"Help yourself, the glasses are in the cupboard over the blender. We can leave once we're done."

Gendry poured himself a glass and came back to where Arya was sitting at the bar. She gestured for him to sit as well. He wasn't sure this was strictly bodyguard behaviour, but he wasn't about to disobey her.

"This is delicious," he said after tasting the smoothie.

She smiled, "it's my favourite." She pushed her bowl of berries towards Gendry, a gesture for him to have some. He was extremely happy that she was getting so comfortable around him. She hardly ever glared at him anymore, which he appreciated because sometimes he feared her eyes might shoot daggers. He smiled in thanks and reached in to grab a blueberry. They drank their drinks and ate the berries in silence.

A few minutes later, he heard a sound from down the hall, it was getting closer. Catelyn Stark, Arya's mother walked in. Gendry immediately stood to attention. But Mrs. Stark took a look around the room and warmly said, 'Good morning Arya, Gendry, please don't disturb yourself on my account.'

"Morning, mum" Arya said.

"Good morning ma'am" Gendry said.

"Please Gendry, have a seat. I'm glad you two are getting along. I confess I worried Arya would give you a hard time." Mrs. Stark said kindly. Gendry hesitantly sat back down.

" _Mum_." Arya said in warning. Gendry could see Arya starting to get irritated.

"She hasn't given me any trouble, ma'am." Gendry said trying to diffuse any tension in the room.

"So, what are you two up to? Going for a run?"

"Yes," Arya said, "We're leaving in a minute. Are you ready Gendry?"

Gendry nodded.

"Have fun darling. But don't forget you have to get a dress for the charity event next weekend. If you have time later today, you should go to the mall and have a look," Mrs. Stark said. Gendry had heard there was going to be a gathering next week at the stark manor from the other guards and his superiors as they planned the security aspect of the event. Since all the starks were going to be in one place with heavy security for the whole event, it was going to be Gendry's night off.

"Do I have to go to the party, you know how much I hate these things" Arya said. He felt bad, all week her mother would mention something of the party and Arya would try to get herself out of going to it.

"Of course, you have to attend, you are part of this family and you have to represent us. Besides, it won't be that bad, I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

" _Please_ , I really don't want to go."

"That's enough Arya, you're going, this is the last I want to hear of this." Gendry felt like he should be somewhere else. Anywhere other than here, witnessing this spat between mother and daughter.

"Fine. I'm going for a run" Arya said, hopping off the stool and angerly walking towards the back door. "Gendry come on."

Gendry was already getting up, he nodded in goodbye to Mrs. Stark and quietly said "Have a good day ma'am." Then he followed Arya out the door.


	7. Chapter 7-Arya

"Arya, wait up!" She heard Gendry yell from somewhere behind her. She was nearly at the edge of the woods where they were going to go for their run, but she slowed so he could catch up.

Somehow, he knew she didn't want to talk about what just happened. He just followed her lead and started jogging into the woods alongside her.

Having run through these woods all her life Arya led Gendry to a place she liked to go sometimes when the weather was nice. She was still seething from the little spat with her mother but running made her feel better. It let out her anger, it seeped out of her with every step. She was glad for Gendry's silent company, but she hated that he saw her fight with her mum. She didn't want him to think of her as a spoilt brat or something.

20 minutes later they reached the edge of a small lake that the family came to swim in during the summer months. Arya paused at the edge of the water, catching her breath, Gendry did the same.

"Let's go for a swim" Arya said.

"What. We can't." Gendry replied immediately.

"Why not?"

"Well, for starters, we don't have swimwear with us."

"We'll just swim in underwear, it's basically like swimsuits anyways."

Gendry gave her a look that said _you can't be serious_ "Arya, it's not appropriate, I'm your bodyguard."

"Come on Gendry, _please._ It will be fun. It'll get my mind of things…" she purposefully left it vague, but it was clear that she meant her mother and the party.

Gendry looked at her for a minute, she gave him the sweetest, most innocent look she could. He sighed, resigned "Fine."

" _Yes!"_ she said triumphantly. She started taking off her shirt to reveal a sports bra underneath.

Gendry immediately went red as a tomato and turned around and looked skyward as though god could save him from her nakedness.

"Come on Gendry, I thought we established that bra's and underwear are basically swimwear. That means you don't have to look so scandalized," she chastised. But she was enjoying his reaction more than she would let on. Her anger already gone from this one little act.

"I know, but I'm trying to be gentleman here." He said "You're purposefully making this hard."

"Are you?" she teased, as she took off her shorts.

"Am I what?" he replied still turned around.

"Hard?" she said jokingly.

He whipped around so fast, his cheeks flaming, "ARYA!"

She couldn't help but burst out laughing, "hey, you walked right into that one. Besides, I'm only joking."

Gendry watched in shock as she jumped into the lake.

"Come on, the water's great!" She said.

Arya watched from the water as he took off his shirt to reveal his muscled body. Then as he took off his shorts to reveal his black boxers. He jumped into the water and swam towards Arya. He stopped and floated in front of her, "That was extremely inappropriate" he said.

She grinned, "it's called a joke, ever heard of them?"

He smiled, shaking his head, "Yes Arya, I've heard of jokes."

"Just admit it, it was funny!"

He paused in mock consideration, then laughed "Yes it was."

She splashed him with water, "that's what you get for being such a prude!"

He splashed her back, "that's for being inappropriate" he said laughing.

In a second it turned into a full out water war.

After half an hour of lounging in the lake they got out and sat on the edge drying their wet clothes, legs still in the water.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked.

"Yeah, sorry you had to see that back in the kitchen. I just never feel like I fit in when I go to those parties so I try to avoid them. Sometimes, I get out of going. Other times, I get guilted into going. I just hate the dressing up, the fake people, the environment in general. It's just not my scene." She said, it felt good to tell him, she didn't often tell people things like this.

"I get not fitting in places, it took me long time to figure out a place for myself. Some days, I still don't think I've found it." He said, thoughtfully.

She pondered this, she thought he was talking about his days in the military "did you like… being in the military?"

"At first, it was my only option after high school. But I ended up liking it, the comradery, the order, even the training. It was hard, but most days I felt like I had a purpose, so I stayed, but this last year I had some trouble with my Commanding Officer, so I decided to leave before it turned into a bigger problem. A friend told me about the post here, and here I am."

"And you're enjoying working here?" she wondered if she had been giving him a harder time than he deserved. She realized, she wanted him to like working here, to like working with her.

He gave her a smile "So far it's been good. There's just this problem with this one girl who lives here, her name is Arya, and she can be a real pain in my ass."

" _Hey!_ " she said in mock indignation, shoving his shoulder playfully "I am _not_!"

They both dissolved into laughter.


	8. Chapter 8-Gendry

The week passed by quickly, and Arya only complained a little bit about the party. Except the day she had to go shopping for a dress, that day, she complained a lot. Gendry didn't mind her complaining, in fact he thought she was cute when she was worked up over something. But then he had to chastise himself for thinking things like that, his job was to protect her not ogle her each time she came out of the dressing room in a different dress.

The day of the party was Gendry's day off but he still sent Arya a text telling her if she needed anything to let him know. He didn't want her to do something reckless, at least not without him at her side. She sent him back a rolling eyes emoji and a _thank you!_

Gendry spent a few hours early in the day, in town running errands he would normally not have a chance to do. On the way back to his apartment on the Stark estate he stopped at the market to get some snacks for his night in. He got back in the late afternoon well before any guests would start arriving for the party.

In his apartment he caught up on some cleaning and then sat down to watch his current tv fixation, _Grimm._ Sometime after the 4th episode he was surprised to hear a knock on his door.

 ** _*That morning- Arya_** _*_

Arya woke up dreading the day to come, she groaned as she got out of bed thinking of the torture she would have to go through.

She reached over to her phone and found a text from Gendry:

 _Good morning! I know it's my day off, but if you need anything just let me know._

That made her smile and she was surprised to realize she was going to miss having him around all day. She sent him back a rolling eyes emoji and a thank you.

She went through the day helping her mother finalize things for the event and then going to get ready for the event. A long time ago this might mean a professional hairstylist and make-up artist might come to 'help' her get ready but she'd managed to convince her mother that she could handle it on her own. At first her mother was reluctant but she could see there was no convincing Arya.

She'd picked up a short black dress that hugged her waist and flowed like water to her mid-thighs. She didn't enjoy dresses generally but this one wasn't so bad, at least she could move/breath in it. In truth she had picked it up because of the look on Gendry's face when he'd seen her in it at the store, she thought she could actually see him drooling and she definitely saw him pick up his jaw from the floor.

She knew he wasn't going to be at the party but she could still see his face from that day when she closed her eyes and it brought her some comfort.

She arrived at the hall and made the usual necessary rounds to say hi to the 'important' guests. An hour in and she was bored out of her mind. She had just paused near the food to grab something to eat when she looked around and realized no one was looking at her, everyone was busy with each other. _Would they notice if she left_ she thought to herself? _She'd already made an appearance, she could sneak out of here and pretend she had a stomach ache if anyone noticed._ She considered her options. A few more hours of this or she could go do something else, she took one last look around the room and saw her parents engrossed in conversation with some rich southerner and made up her mind.

 _Now to decide where to go_ she thought as she exited the hall as stealthily as she could. She contemplated leaving the grounds all together, but she decided against it, if she was caught her parents would kill her and Gendry might actually kill her. Thinking of Gendry gave her an idea though.

She walked the short distance to the staff building, she got to apartment she knew he lived in and knocked, she just hoped he was still awake.

 ** _*Gendry*_**

He opened the door to his apartment and was completely shocked to see Arya standing there, bare foot, in her little black dress, heals in her hand.

"Arya?" he said, still shocked "what are you doing here?"

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I got bored at the party, I don't think they'll miss me" she replied, trying to get a peek into his apartment.

"You can't be here."

"Are you saying you don't want me here?" she said, sounding hurt.

"No of course not, I'd love to have you, I just don't want you to get in trouble."

"Let _me_ deal with getting into trouble. Wait. Would you get into trouble?"

"I'm not sure…" he really wasn't sure he knew he probably shouldn't see her outside of their working relationship. But he didn't know if he could get into trouble for her being in his apartment.

"If you do, let me know, I'll deal with it".

"Then by all means, come on in." He said with a sweeping gesture for her to enter the room. "Can I get you anything?"

"I'm fine thanks, what are you up to anyways?"

"I was just watching _Grimm_ actually"

"No way, I love that show I just finished season 4."

He covered his ears dramatically "No spoilers! I've only just started season 3!"

She laughed, "can I watch with you?"

"Of course. Come on." He said, leading her to the couch. "Are you sure I can't get you anything?"

She looked down at her clothes, "Can I…maybe…borrow a shirt? And socks?"

He looked at her outfit, a little black dress that made him a little hot and bothered. But the thought of Arya in his clothes made him nearly pass out. He hardly managed to say "sure."

"Thanks!" she said as he led her into his room. He was glad he'd cleaned up earlier, he wasn't exactly expecting Arya to be in his apartment but it was a pleasant surprise nonetheless. He went to a chest of drawers, opened the top one and pulled out a plain black shirt, then he opened the second drawer and pulled out a pair of socks. "did you want some pants? I know they'll be huge but…"

"These will be fine, I'm wearing shorts under this dress and your shirt will be more of a dress on me" she said with a laugh.

He laughed nervously, trying not to think of her undressing. She stood still for a minute staring at him expectantly. It took him a minute but it finally clicked, she was waiting for him to leave so she could change, "I'll be right outside" He said, leaving the room.

She came out a minute later in his shirt that reached her mid-thigh and if he thought she looked good in that dress, looking at her in his clothes did things to him that he didn't think he would ever be able to explain.

She walked to the two-seater couch and folded herself on it in the middle, her knee nearly touching his thighs. She got herself comfortable and said "What episode are you on?"

 _What episode is he on? Oh, the show, they were going to watch the show together._ "The one with the mermaid-ish things"

"That's a good one!"

He clicked the play button and the episode resumed. Twenty minutes later he felt Arya slide her head onto his shoulder and snuggle up closer to him. He knew it was inappropriate but whatever this thing with Arya was, he wasn't strong enough to fight it. He slipped his arm around her shoulders and fingers gently played over the bare skin on her arms.

Neither of them spoke, not wanting to break whatever spell had been placed on them, they just watched the show. Together.


	9. Chapter 9-Arya

Arya stirred awake, stilling suddenly when she felt someone's chest rising slowly underneath her. _What the fuck is happening_ she thought to herself, eyes widening as she took in her surroundings.

She was in Gendry's apartment. On top of Gendry.

She'd fallen asleep somewhere after the fourth episode they had watched. And now she was laying on top of Gendry's muscled body, her head laying on his chest, his arm draped protectively around her waist.

Something she had done must have caused him to wake because he moved, tightening his arm around her, and bringing his other around to meet the first, essentially trapping her in his embrace.

After her initial panic at being somewhere other than her bed subsided, she realized she didn't mind being in his arms, it was warm, safe.

Within the minute though he was fully awake and realizing what he was doing, immediately let go of her, smiling his beautifully disarming smile at her and slowly raised both of them into a sitting position.

"Morning" He said, voice hoarse from sleep, it made him more attractive than Arya could have ever imagined.

Arya, still on his lap on the couch, straddling him replied, "Mmm…Good morning" she tentatively put her hand on his shoulder to steady herself. His gaze turned to her hand for a second, then back at her.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. A little embarrassed about falling asleep, but alright." She paused "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude on you. You should have just woken me up and told me to go home."

Gendry leaned in "Hey, don't apologize, I had a fun night and I would _never_ kick you out like that. You didn't bother me at all." His brilliantly blue eyes smouldered and he said, a little softer, "I really liked having you around"

Arya was drowning in his eyes, pulling her closer to him. She couldn't help it, and she suspected he couldn't either. The hand on his shoulder snaked to his neck and up to his face, he leaned into it. His hands dragged up her thighs and stopped at her waist, pulling her closer still.

Their foreheads leaned against each other for a second that seemed to last forever.

And then they were kissing, Arya's fingers threading through his hair, pulling him closer. Gendry pulling them both closer for a second then pushing her back down on the couch without breaking apart, making sure that none of his weight was actually on her. Their hands roamed each other's bodies. Their lips imploring each other to give up the secrets of the universe.

Arya's hands grasped hold of the edges of Gendry's shirt pulling it up his chest, breaking their kiss for a second to remove the shirt.

Surprising her, Gendry said "You're so beautiful" and then he left a lingering kiss on her neck, "And so smart" leaving another lingering kiss on the other side of her neck. "And so brave" and then he pulled her lips to his with so much passion she could feel it in every fibre of her being.

She pulled away slightly, tracing her lips along his jaw and to his ear, she whispered, a smile in her voice "I knew you liked me."

Gendry laughed "You have no idea." He brought his hand up to her face, his thumb lightly stroking her cheek, he looked at her like she was the sun and the stars. "You like me too, right?" suddenly cautious.

She smiled at him biting her lower lip, "Yeah, I like you."

His grin widened as he kissed her again.

Within minutes Arya's shirt was off (Gendry's shirt, technically). Things were heating up, and fast. Arya couldn't get enough of him.

Gendry suddenly stopped, breathless "Wait, Arya, I think we're going too fast." He said his lips a breath away from her neck as if it was taking everything he had not to bring his lips back to her skin.

"I don't mind, I want you. All of you." Arya replied.

"I really like you Arya," Gendry said pulling well away and sitting up on the couch, leaving Arya laying down on the couch. He grasped her hand in his and brought it to his lips for a sweet kiss on the back of her hand.

She tightened her grip on his hand and pulled herself up into a sitting position, leaning her head on his shoulder. "You're right. We should slow down, I don't know what got over me."

"I get it, I could hardly stop myself as well. I just didn't want you to regret anything. To regret me."

She lifted her head up to gaze into his eyes, she squeezed his hand and said "I could never"

He gripped her face with his other hand and brought his lips to her forehead. Arya was amazed at how sweet and soft he could be. She turned her face into his hand and kissed his palm.

He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead onto hers, "Oh man, I am so fired." He said with a laugh.

"You will not be fired!"

"It would so be worth it." He smiled reverently.

"You will _not_ be fired." She said again, "I will make sure of it, it not anyone's business but ours what we do"

"Your dad's going to kill me" he said as if just realizing this.

"Stop." She said half laughing half actually fearing for his life. "He's not going to do anything to you, stop freaking out."

"We have to tell them, or it will be so much worse if they find out later."

"Don't worry about it, I'm dad's favourite, I'll figure out a way to tell him that won't get you fired or dead. Deal."

"Deal."

"Alright then, I should get going, I need to sneak into the house and make sure no one realized I didn't come home last night." She kissed his lips quickly and got up to gather her things from last night. He watched her as she moved around the room, putting her (his) shirt back on. He got up when he could see she was done, walking her to the door. She grabbed a suit jacket that was hung on the back of the door. "I'm keeping the shirt, but you can get the jacket back later." She said, stretching on her tip toes to kiss his cheek.

He laughed, "Alright, you little thief. Call me later if you wanna go for a run or out of the estate."

She rolled her eyes and walked out of the door.


	10. Chapter 10- Gendry

Gendry knew that it was a bad idea to do anything with Arya, but he liked her god damn it. The last few couple of weeks, getting to know her had been so fun, and he loved how comfortable around him she had gotten in such a short period of time.

After she left his apartment, he thought about all the ways this could go wrong but at the same time he could really see himself falling for her. He could already tell he would do just about anything for her.

She texted him a few hours later, it was enough time for him to realize he wasn't going to stop whatever was developing between them, not if she wanted him too.

 _Want to go to the cinema?_ She asked

 _Sure, will be ready in 10min. Meet me at the car._ He replied

 _See you in a minute._

Gendry arrived at the garage first, and stood near the car until Arya arrived.

He heard her coming towards him before he saw her.

"Hey there," she said as she slid up in front of him, dragging her hands over his chest.

He put a hand on top of hers on his chest and the other on her waist. "Hey, we really shouldn't do this in public until we tell your parents."

She took a step back, "You're right." She said, reluctantly, "let's go see that movie." She held his hand with her finger tips for a second before letting go.

"Did anyone realize you snuck out of the party last night?" he asked

"Nope, I'm a ninja like that." She replied grinning, "But I did run into mum this morning and she said I've got to have dinner with the family tonight."

"Good, I was worried you'd get in trouble"

She smiled, "like I said, total ninja here."

They spent an easy afternoon at the mall cinema watching the latest blockbuster. In the cinema they held hands under the cover of the theatre's darkness and whispered lame jokes about the movie.

Back at the house, Gendry walked Arya into the house, Arya told him "Stay over? We can watch _Grimm_ again."

"I probably shouldn't" he said.

"Come on, it will be fine. I won't let anything happen to you."

"I'm supposed to be protecting you, not the other way around," he chuckled.

"I've told you a hundred times, I'm more than capable of handling myself. I bet I could take you in a fight." She said, grinning dangerously.

"I'm sure you could, I've read your file, I know you know a bunch of different martial arts."

"That's right. I know you have my back, but I've got yours as well." She said sincerely, looking into his eyes intensely.

It made Gendry's heart squeeze; how could she so totally have this control over him in such a short period of time.

"Okay." He said finally.

They sat around watching _Grimm_ for a few hours. Around 6pm, Arya's dad came by the room and Gendry immediately stood up. He had been sitting on the couch with Arya, but there had been a respectable distance between them.

"Good evening, glad to see you're getting along" his boss, Arya's father, said.

"Hi Dad," Arya said rolling her eyes at his statement.

"Hello sir," Gendry added.

"We're going to have dinner soon Arya, and your mum says to get ready." Mr. Stark stated.

"Sure" Arya replied, "Will be there soon."

"Gendry," Mr. Stark said, "Why don't you stay for dinner?"

Gendry glanced at Arya for a second, unsure of what to do in this situation, she had a slight look of panic on her face for a brief second before she said "Yes, Gendry, you should totally stay for dinner"

Gendry hesitated, "I don't want to impose."

"It's not an imposition, come have dinner with us" Mr. Stark said govially.

"Alright" Gendry agreed finally.

"Okay then, I'll see you kids in a few minutes."

After Gendry made sure Arya's father was gone, he sat next to her on the couch, "You sure this is okay?"

She glanced at the doorway then clasped his hand, drawing small circles with her thumb on his hand. "Yes, it's just my little brothers and my parents and dinner is usually pretty chill at our house." She said, seeming confident, "Come on, I've got to pass by my room before we head to the dining room."

Gendry followed her to her room, where she changed her clothes and they headed together towards dinner with her parents. Gendry was beyond nervous, he wanted to make a good impression, but at the same time he was terrified they would find out that he was making out with Arya in secret.


End file.
